China could step up armament, provocations near Senkakus: Japan

China's coast guard could step up armament and provocations around the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea following the enforcement of a controversial Chinese law, a Japanese Defense Ministry think tank warned Friday.The National Institute for Defense Studies said in an annual report that military competition between the United States and China in the Western Pacific is likely to further increase under a "new Cold War" between the two powers.The institute published the report after Beijing on Feb. 1 enforced a law that allows the China Coast Guard to use weapons again…READ FULL ARTICLE